UTPB Park Burglaries

2008-04-18T23:56:02Z2008-04-19T00:35:07Z

by Sarah SnyderNewsWest 9

Students who practice at the UTPB park say it's just not safe anymore. Over the past 3 weeks, there have been five reports of car break-ins, which is out of the ordinary for this park. The latest, happened on Wednesday.

"I can't believe it happened to me," said Stephanie Leonard, a UTPB Freshman. "You never think it's going to happen to you."

While she played soccer, her windows were broken and everything taken out.

"I was extremely violated, upset, mad. I had mixed emotions," she said.

And these crooks must be pretty slick. They strike in broad daylight with plenty of people around.

"Apparently they use something that breaks the window and shatters the whole thing without a sound," Leonard said. "That's why when we were practicing, we were literally like 50 yards away, and we didn't hear anything. It was bad."

The park bears the UTPB name, but it's actually patrolled by the Odessa Police Department.

"About an hour later, they came," Leonard said. "They said I'm at least the fifth victim it's happened to in this parking lot."

Stephanie says she just wants police to help keep their park safe.

"I've called several times," she said. "I've left messages several times today, and they won't get back to me. Like I said, I understand they are busy. They have a lot of stuff going down, but I feel like people need to know what's going on."

Odessa Police say this isn't the only place the thieves have hit. They're targeting anywhere women might leave a purse in their car, like at the gym or park.